Are the children well? | Christina Grant | TEDxBoston

Quick Overview

Christina Grant reveals that despite the historical trend of underinvestment in public education, particularly in high-poverty areas like D.C., the critical question remains whether children are well, emphasizing that parents must actively investigate their children's learning environments rather than relying on official assurances.

Key Points: Grant cites an African proverb: "Are the children well?" as the fundamental question she continues to ask after 25 years in public education. She contrasts her upbringing in the South during the Reagan era, where her parents moved to New York during the Great Migration, with the current situation. Following the 9/11 attacks, the federal recovery dollars intended for schools were diverted to deferred maintenance, meaning academic interventions were underfunded. The Education Recovery Scorecard, tracked since the pandemic's start, shows that many students, including those in D.C., are not yet academically recovered, with literacy and math scores lower than pre-pandemic levels. Grant recounts an anecdote where high schoolers, upon hearing about the 9/11 recovery fund diversion, asked when they could return from mock trial to discuss it, highlighting student engagement. She stresses the need for parents to actively investigate and ask critical questions about their children's learning environments, rather than accepting surface-level reassurances. Grant mentions that her research center at Harvard found that $100 million went to deferred maintenance instead of academic interventions, and that in Philadelphia, recovery dollars went to deferred maintenance instead of academic interventions.

Context: Christina Grant, speaking at a TEDxBoston event, discusses her long career in public education, spanning 25 years, and her persistent focus on assessing student well-being, encapsulated by the African proverb, 'Are the children well?' Her talk contrasts past systemic failures, like the diversion of 9/11 recovery funds away from academic interventions, with the current state of education post-pandemic, where recovery is lagging.